The Little Prince is the central character of the fairy tale. The action takes place in the Sahara Desert "a thousand miles from any inhabited land." The fairy tale, written for children, became so widely known due to the exceptional poetic atmosphere created in it, and the fact that the fairy tale was addressed by the author not only to children, but also to “adults who remained children.” The plane crashed in the desert, the situation is hopeless, and then M. p. appears - a boy, it is unknown how he ended up in this deserted desert. He talks with the pilot and asks him: “Please... Draw me a lamb!” - but none of the lambs painted by Saint-Exupery suits him. After all, the planet from which he flew, taking advantage of the “birds of passage”, is so small... There are only three volcanoes on it, which must be cleaned daily so that they do not smoke, and, most importantly, his beloved Rose blooms under a glass cover. Rose is proud, capricious, “the only one in the world.” “Planet of the King”, “Planet of the Drunkard”, “Planet of the Lantern Lighter”, “Planet of the Geographer” - each contains stages of symbolic “cognition of the world” for M. p. For example, on planet Earth, M. learns the concept of death. One should treat it stoically, this is what the wise Snake teaches M. p. You just have to look at the starry sky and think what is there, among stardust, there is a star of a friend who left you. “His body was too heavy,” he left it as an unnecessary shell on Earth and freely ascended in spirit to the stars.” One of the central episodes of the fairy tale is M. p.’s acquaintance with the Fox, who tells him: “You must tame me,” “After all, you can only know those things that you manage to tame,” “You need patience.” The Fox's secret is simple: you can see and understand well only with your heart. The rest is hidden from human eyes. “The time you spent for your Rose is what makes her so meaningful to you.”

This is a fairy tale about a child, but a fairy tale that has taken the form of a philosophical parable. It has an addressee, dedicated to a friend Leon Werth. The plot of this fairy tale is fantastic, a meeting between a pilot who suffered an accident and an alien from other worlds - a funny, tiny man. Small...

1. New!

   Responsibility is the main distinguishing quality of a person. (If you had to choose one of all the wise sayings of the Little Prince, it would be the following: “We are responsible for those we have tamed.” Because responsibility is the main thing that distinguishes...

At the beginning of World War II, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry often drew the same picture: a boy with or without wings looks in surprise from behind a cloud at the earth, at its houses, at the sheep. This surprised boy increasingly haunted the writer...

A long time ago, when I was little, I read “The Little Prince” by Antoine Where is Saint-Exupéry. It struck me that the author, an adult, is afraid of becoming like adults who are not interested in anything except numbers. And so he “bought a box of paints and pencils.”...

Reading the works of A. de Saint-Exupery, you feel more acutely the beauty of the world and the power of human attraction to brotherhood. The writer and pilot died three weeks before the liberation of his native France (1944) - he did not return to base from a combat mission, but his books continue...

If we discard dry calculations, then the description of “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry can be summed up in one word - miracle.

The fairy tale's literary roots lie in a wandering plot about a rejected prince, and its emotional roots lie in a child's view of the world.

(Watercolor illustrations made by Saint-Exupéry, without which a book simply cannot be published, since they and the book form a single whole fairy tale)

History of creation

The image of a pensive boy first appears in the form of a drawing in the notes of a French military pilot in 1940. Later, the author organically wove his own sketches into the body of the work, changing his view of illustration as such.

The original image crystallized into a fairy tale by 1943. At that time, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry lived in New York. Bitterness from the inability to share the fate of comrades fighting in Africa and longing for beloved France seeped into the text. There were no problems with the publication, and in the same year American readers became acquainted with The Little Prince, however, they received it coolly.

Together with English translation The original was also released in French. The book reached French publishers only three years later, in 1946, two years after the death of the aviator. The Russian-language version of the work appeared in 1958. And now “The Little Prince” has almost the largest number translations - there are its publications in 160 languages ​​(including Zulu and Aramaic). Total sales exceeded 80 million copies.

Description of the work

The storyline is built around the travels of the Little Prince from the tiny planet B-162. And gradually his journey becomes not so much an actual movement from planet to planet, but rather a road to understanding life and the world.

Wanting to learn something new, the Prince leaves his asteroid with three volcanoes and one favorite rose. On the way he meets many symbolic characters:

• A ruler convinced of his power over all the stars;
• An ambitious person seeking admiration for himself;
• A drunkard drowning in drink, shame from addiction;
• A business man constantly busy counting the stars;
• the diligent Lamplighter, who lights and extinguishes his lantern every minute;
• A geographer who never left his planet.

These characters, together with the rose garden, the switchman and others, are the world modern society, burdened with conventions and responsibilities.

On the advice of the latter, the boy goes to Earth, where in the desert he meets the crashed pilot, the Fox, the Snake and other characters. This is where his journey through the planets ends and his knowledge of the world begins.

Main characters

The main character of a literary fairy tale has childish spontaneity and directness of judgment, supported (but not clouded) by the experience of an adult. Because of this, his actions paradoxically combine responsibility (careful care of the planet) and spontaneity (sudden departure on a trip). In the work, he is an image of a correct way of life, not littered with conventions, which fills it with meaning.

Pilot

The entire story is told from his perspective. He has similarities both with the writer himself and with the Little Prince. The pilot is an adult, but he instantly finds common language with a little hero. In the lonely desert, he displays the normal human reaction - he is angry because of problems with engine repairs, he is afraid of dying of thirst. But it reminds him of childhood personality traits that should not be forgotten even in the harshest conditions.

Fox

This image has an impressive semantic load. Tired of the monotony of life, the Fox wants to find affection. By taming it, it shows the Prince the essence of affection. The boy understands and accepts this lesson and finally understands the nature of the relationship with his Rose. The fox is a symbol of understanding the nature of affection and trust.

Rose

A weak, but beautiful and temperamental flower, which has only four thorns to protect it from the dangers of this world. Undoubtedly, the prototype of the flower was the writer’s hot-tempered wife, Consuelo. The rose represents the inconsistency and power of love.

Snake

The second key for storyline character. She, like the biblical asp, offers the Prince a way to return to his beloved Rose with the help of a fatal bite. Longing for the flower, the prince agrees. The snake puts an end to his journey. But whether this point was a real return home or something else, the reader will have to decide. In the fairy tale, the Snake symbolizes deceit and temptation.

Analysis of the work

Genre of "The Little Prince" - literary fairy tale. There are all the signs: fantastic characters and their wonderful actions, a social and pedagogical message. However, there is also a philosophical context that refers to the traditions of Voltaire. Together with the attitude towards the problems of death, love, and responsibility, which is uncharacteristic of fairy tales, this allows us to classify the work as a parable.

Events in the fairy tale, like most parables, have some cyclicity. At the starting point, the hero is presented as he is, then the development of events leads to a climax, after which “everything returns to normal,” but with a philosophical, ethical or moral load. This is what happens in The Little Prince, when main character decides to return to his “tamed” Rose.

From an artistic point of view, the text is filled with simple and understandable images. Mystical imagery, together with simplicity of presentation, allows the author to naturally move from a specific image to a concept, an idea. The text is generously sprinkled with bright epithets and paradoxical semantic constructions.

It is impossible not to note the special nostalgic tone of the tale. Thanks to artistic techniques adults see in a fairy tale a conversation with a good old friend, and children receive what is described in a simple and figurative language an idea of ​​what kind of world surrounds them. In many ways, The Little Prince owes its popularity to these factors.

Characteristics of the little prince

1. Saint-Exupery "The Little Prince" - essay "You can't see the most important thing with your eyes"

   The outstanding French writer A. de Saint-Exupery said that for him there is only one problem, the same in the world - to return to people their spiritual essence, spiritual concerns. For this purpose, he writes a philosophical fairy tale-parable, The Little Prince. Why a fairy tale, since this genre is mostly intended for children? The author himself answers: All adults were children at first.

   Adults and children are contrasted in the fairy tale The Little Prince not based on age, but according to a value system that is important to them. For adults, wealth, power, and ambition are important. And the child’s soul longs for mutual understanding, purity in relationships, the joy of every day, beauty.

   The little prince, having arrived on Earth, discovers new world with other people. He notices with surprise that people are in a hurry, trying to save time, but spending it inappropriately, and do not know how to take advantage of what nature can give them for their satisfaction. People crowd into fast trains, but they don't know what they're looking for, said little prince. That's why they fuss and turn here and there. He further clarifies: And what they are looking for could be found in one rose, in a sip of water. Nevertheless, it was on Earth that the boy attained wisdom. The fox explained to him that friendship is when people need each other and are responsible one for one. And the most valuable thing is what you invest your work, care, time and soul into. True friend- this is an expensive treasure. People buy things ready-made from traders. But there are no merchants who would sell friends.

   In a conversation with the pilot, the little prince says: People on your planet grow five thousand roses in one garden and do not find what they are looking for. But you can’t see the most important thing with your eyes. It’s like with a flower. If you love a flower that grows somewhere on a star, you enjoy looking at the sky at night. All the stars are blooming.

   The fairy tale is filled with images and symbols that carry deep philosophical content. This is a rose, and a Fox, and a Snake, and a well with living water, and trains, and the Little Prince himself, and many others.

   Saint-Exupéry wanted people, after reading the fairy tale The Little Prince, to think about important questions about the meaning of the existence of humanity and the individual: why a person is alive, what is most important in her life, which values ​​are real and which are false. The writer affirms the idea of ​​the need to fill life with spiritual content.

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   for everyone he has tamed.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. A little prince-child living on asteroid B-12, symbolizing purity, selflessness, and a natural vision of the world. According to the writer, children became the bearers of these values. They live according to the dictates of their hearts, and adults mindlessly obey the absurd conventions of modern society. Adults do not know how to love, be friends, feel sorry, or rejoice. Because of this, they don't find what they are looking for.
   And to find it, you need to know only two secrets (they are revealed to the hero by the Fox, who
   taught the baby the art of friendship): only the heart is vigilant, you are always responsible
   for everyone he has tamed.
   Children are given an instinctive understanding of these truths. That is why the pilot, whose
   the plane crashed in the desert, doomed to die of thirst if not
   repairs his car, finds a friend in the Little Prince who saves
   it from loneliness and becomes for him the water that his heart sometimes needs.
   The Little Prince has a kind heart and a reasonable view of the world. He is hardworking
   faithful in love and devoted in feelings. Therefore, his life is filled with meaning, which
   There is no king, an ambitious man, a drunkard, a business man, a lamplighter, a geographer - those whom the hero met on his journey. And the meaning of life, a person’s calling -
   in selfless love for those who need it.
   And the Little Prince returns to his asteroid to take care of his only Rose, who will die without him.
   Of course, the rose is alive, because we remember it.
   She reminds us that each of us was once a child and found things more meaningful for ourselves than the ordinary.
   They-Baby, Fox and proud, capricious Rose taught us to see with our hearts.
   Everyone has their own “magic flower” that they grew and nurtured.
   and tamed it. He is infinitely expensive!! !
4. A little prince-child living on asteroid B-12, symbolizing purity, selflessness, and a natural vision of the world. According to the writer, children became the bearers of these values. They live according to the dictates of their hearts, and adults mindlessly obey the absurd conventions of modern society. Adults do not know how to love, be friends, feel sorry, or rejoice. Because of this, they don't find what they are looking for.
   And to find it, you need to know only two secrets (they are revealed to the hero by the Fox, who
   taught the baby the art of friendship): only the heart is vigilant, you are always responsible
   for everyone he has tamed.
   Children are given an instinctive understanding of these truths. That is why the pilot, whose
   the plane crashed in the desert, doomed to die of thirst if not
   repairs his car, finds a friend in the Little Prince who saves
   it from loneliness and becomes for him the water that his heart sometimes needs.
   The Little Prince has a kind heart and a reasonable view of the world. He is hardworking
   faithful in love and devoted in feelings. Therefore, his life is filled with meaning, which
   There is no king, an ambitious man, a drunkard, a business man, a lamplighter, a geographer - those whom the hero met on his journey. And the meaning of life, a person’s calling -
   in selfless love for those who need it.
   And the Little Prince returns to his asteroid to take care of his only Rose, who will die without him.
   Of course, the rose is alive, because we remember it.
   She reminds us that each of us was once a child and found things more meaningful for ourselves than the ordinary.
   They-Baby, Fox and proud, capricious Rose taught us to see with our hearts.
   Everyone has their own “magic flower” that they grew and nurtured.
   and tamed it. He is infinitely expensive!! !
5. kind, naive, out of this world
6. A little prince-child living on asteroid B-12, symbolizing purity, selflessness, and a natural vision of the world. According to the writer, children became the bearers of these values. They live according to the dictates of their hearts, and adults mindlessly obey the absurd conventions of modern society. Adults do not know how to love, be friends, feel sorry, or rejoice. Because of this, they don't find what they are looking for.
   And to find it, you need to know only two secrets (they are revealed to the hero by the Fox, who
   taught the baby the art of friendship): only the heart is vigilant, you are always responsible
   for everyone he has tamed.
   Children are given an instinctive understanding of these truths. That is why the pilot, whose
   the plane crashed in the desert, doomed to die of thirst if not
   repairs his car, finds a friend in the Little Prince who saves
   it from loneliness and becomes for him the water that his heart sometimes needs.
   The Little Prince has a kind heart and a reasonable view of the world. He is hardworking
   faithful in love and devoted in feelings. Therefore, his life is filled with meaning, which
   There is no king, an ambitious man, a drunkard, a business man, a lamplighter, a geographer - those whom the hero met on his journey. And the meaning of life, a person’s calling -
   in selfless love for those who need it.
   And the Little Prince returns to his asteroid to take care of his only Rose, who will die without him.
   Of course, the rose is alive, because we remember it.
   She reminds us that each of us was once a child and found things more meaningful for ourselves than the ordinary.
   They-Baby, Fox and proud, capricious Rose taught us to see with our hearts.
   Everyone has their own “magic flower” that they grew and nurtured.
   and tamed it. He is infinitely expensive!! !
7. A little prince-child living on asteroid B-612, symbolizing purity, selflessness, and a natural vision of the world. According to the writer, children became the bearers of these values. They live according to the dictates of their hearts, and adults mindlessly obey the absurd conventions of modern society. Adults do not know how to love, be friends, feel sorry, or rejoice. Because of this, they don't find what they are looking for.
   And to find it, you need to know only two secrets (they are revealed to the hero by the Fox, who
   taught the baby the art of friendship): only the heart is vigilant, you are always responsible
   for everyone he has tamed.
   Children are given an instinctive understanding of these truths. That is why the pilot, whose
   the plane crashed in the desert, doomed to die of thirst if not
   repairs his car, finds a friend in the Little Prince who saves
   it from loneliness and becomes for him the water that his heart sometimes needs.
   The Little Prince has a kind heart and a reasonable view of the world. He is hardworking
   faithful in love and devoted in feelings. Therefore, his life is filled with meaning, which
   There is no king, an ambitious man, a drunkard, a business man, a lamplighter, a geographer - those whom the hero met on his journey. And the meaning of life, a person’s calling -
   in selfless love for those who need it.
   And the Little Prince returns to his asteroid to take care of his only Rose, who will die without him.
   Of course, the rose is alive, because we remember it.
   She reminds us that each of us was once a child and found things more meaningful for ourselves than the ordinary.
   They-Baby, Fox and proud, capricious Rose taught us to see with our hearts.
   Everyone has their own “magic flower” that they grew and nurtured.
   and tamed it. He is infinitely expensive!! !
8. but it’s not clear who this is anyway

Little Prince

THE LITTLE PRINCE (French: Le Petit Prince) is the hero of A. de Saint-Exupéry’s fairy tale “The Little Prince” (1942). M.P., a child living on asteroid B-12, symbolizes for the writer purity, selflessness, and a natural vision of the world. The bearers of these values, according to the writer, were in the 20th century. became children. They live “at the behest of their hearts,” while adults mindlessly obey the absurd conventions of modern society. Adults do not know how to love, be friends, feel sorry, or rejoice. Because of this, they “don’t find what they are looking for.” And to find it, you need to know only two secrets (they are revealed to the hero by the Fox, who taught M.P. the art of friendship): “only the heart is vigilant,” “you are always responsible for everyone you have tamed.” Children are given an instinctive understanding of these truths. That is why the Pilot, whose plane crashed in the desert, doomed to death from thirst if he does not repair his car, finds in M.P. a friend who saves him from loneliness and becomes for him the water “that the heart sometimes needs.” At M.P. a kind heart and a reasonable view of the world. He is hardworking, faithful in love and devoted in feelings. Therefore, the life of M.P. filled with meaning that is not found in the life of a king, an ambitious man, a drunkard, a business man, a lamplighter, a geographer - those whom the hero met on his journey. And the meaning of life, a person’s calling, is in selfless love for those who need it. And M.P. returns to his asteroid to take care of his only Rose, who will die without him. Image of M.P. - simple-minded, natural man faced with the absurdity of customs human society, - genetically goes back to the philosophical stories of Voltaire.

All characteristics in alphabetical order:

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THE LITTLE PRINCE The Little Prince is the main character of the fairy tale, who flew from his small planet to Earth. Before that, he made a long journey through a variety of planets that were inhabited by “strange adults.” The Little Prince has his own world, so a collision with the world of adults gives him a lot of questions and bewilderments. The pilot who suffered the accident is busy troubleshooting the plane. At dawn, the dozing pilot hears the thin voice of a child: “Please... draw me a lamb!” This is how the narrator introduces the reader to the Little Prince, who so miraculously appeared among the sands of the Sahara. The journey of the Little Prince, which he undertook after quarreling with his rose, meeting with the king, an ambitious drunkard, business person, a geographer - the only inhabitants of small planets - allowed the author to conclude: “Yes, these adults are strange people! Trifles seem important to them, but they do not see the main thing. Instead of decorating their home, cultivating their garden, their planet, they wage wars, tyrannize other people, and dry out their brains with stupid numbers, and amuse themselves with pathetic tinsel, and with their vanity and greed insult the beauty of sunsets and sunrises, fields and sands. No, that’s not how you should live!” The little prince did not meet anyone on the planets who could be his friend. Only the image of a lamplighter differs favorably from other images in that he is faithful to his duty. And this loyalty, although meaningless, is reliable. The little prince meets the Fox on Earth and, at his request, gradually tames him. They become friends, but break up. The words of the Fox sound like a wise commandment: “...you are forever responsible for everyone you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose." The most precious things in this life for the Little Prince are the Fox and the rose he left behind, because they are the only ones in the world. The appearance of the Little Prince in the desert, his appearance to a pilot who suffered an accident, is a symbolic reminder to an adult of his “inner homeland,” and his “death,” disappearance and grief caused by this is the tragedy of an adult, in whose soul a child dies. It is the child who embodies all that is good, pure, and beautiful. Therefore, the writer says with bitterness that adults, parting with childhood, often forget about eternal, imperishable values; they are preoccupied with important things, in their opinion, and lead a boring, dull existence. But people should live differently, they need clean water deep wells, we need the bells of stars in the night sky. And because Saint-Exupery is not sure whether he will be able to inspire people with his own - their own! - the truth is, the fairy tale is so sad, so sad.